Hoge: Big Ten Awards And All-Conference Team
By Adam Hoge -
The official Big Ten basketball awards won't be announced until later tonight, but in the meantime you can check out my awards and All-Big Ten teams:
First Team All-Big Ten
Jordan Taylor – Wisconsin
E'Twaun Moore - Purdue
Jon Leuer - Wisconsin
JaJuan Johnson – Purdue
Jared Sullinger – Ohio State
Second Team All-Big Ten
Talor Battle – Penn State
Kalin Lucas – Michigan State
Darius Morris - Michigan
William Buford – Ohio State
Trevor Mbakwe – Minnesota
Third Team All-Big Ten
Michael Thompson – Northwestern
Demetri McCamey – Illinois
David Lighty – Ohio State
Christian Watford - Indiana
Draymond Green – Michigan State
All-Freshman Team
Aaron Craft – Ohio State
Tim Hardaway Jr. – Michigan
Melsahn Basabe – Iowa
Jordan Morgan – Michigan
Jared Sullinger – Ohio State
All-Defensive Team
Aaron Craft – Ohio State
Lewis Jackson - Purdue
David Lighty – Ohio State
Draymond Green – Michigan State
JaJuan Johnson - Purdue
Player of the Year
JaJuan Johnson - Purdue
I have a feeling Jared Sullinger is going to win the award based on the "best player on the best team" argument, but the Sullinger finished seventh in the conference in scoring and actually started to disappear as the Big Ten season went along. Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor got better throughout the season and had my vote until his quiet performance at Ohio State Sunday. JaJuan Johnson was the most consistent player in the conference all season long and finished first in scoring, first in blocks and third in rebounding. He was the best all-around player in the conference this season.
Defensive Player of the Year
David Lighty – Ohio State
Freshman of the Year
Jared Sullinger – Ohio State
Sixth Man of the Year
Aaron Craft – Ohio State
Coach of the Year
John Beilein - Michigan
You can make a very good argument for Thad Matta, Matt Painter and Bo Ryan, but no coach did more with less than Beilein this season. Matta did a great job of turning a very good team with two freshman into the best team in the country. Painter rallied his team despite losing Robbie Hummel to another ACL injury and had a great season. And Bo Ryan once again took a less talented squad and finished in the top four of the Big Ten for the 10th straight season. But Beilein lost his top two players from last year -- Manny Harris and Deshawn Sims -- and won 19 games despite starting three freshman and a sophomore for most of the season. Michigan finished fourth in the Big Ten despite a 1-6 start in conference play and is a near lock for the NCAA Tournament.
Adam Hoge will have all the coverage from the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis starting Thursday. For more on the Big Ten and college basketball throughout March, be sure to follow him on Twitter @AdamHoge670. Read more of his blogs here.
